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In the tradition of The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Order, Foucault’s Pendulum, and more comes this novel of a search for treasure that can only be uncovered by deciphering a set of clues hidden in puzzles written in three separate languages and stashed away in different parts of Europe. History, suspense, and romance all intertwine as the race is on to locate a cache of stolen artwork purloined by a brilliant and opportunistic German General in World War II.
Sterling is a burnt-out architect (and former Navy Seal) recovering from a disastrous marriage and a stress-inducing career. He has stolen away to Nantucket island, taken a job he can do in his sleep, and pines for something that can re-energize his life. It shows up one day in the form of an Italian he meets on the beach and befriends, agreeing to keep safe a manuscript his new pal wants protected. Soon, the Italian turns up dead, the manuscript turns out to be a type of treasure map, and Sterling takes off with a beautiful Russian waitress who can help him over the conundrums and under the covers.
Author Rivers steeps his readers in the history of plunder through the ages. He then spins a fast-moving chase yarn peopled with Mafiosi, British Viscounts, Columbian drug lords, Japanese business tycoons, and more. His plot is definitely imaginative, his characters memorable, his locales picturesque, and his storytelling prowess formidable. Dialogue is occasionally clichéd, and more judicious editing would have eliminated some grammatical speed bumps. However, the author still delivers and manages to construct an adventure tale that fans of the genre are quite likely to find engaging.